The Tragedy of the Lone Wanderer
by CooperArt
Summary: What drove the Lone Wanderer? How could anyone make it out of that situation intact? Maybe they can't...


**The Tragedy of the Lone Wanderer**

Note: If you couldn't tell from the title, this is a Fallout 3 fanfiction. I don't own anything in this. It has major spoilers, and is best read by someone who has already played Fallout 3, as most events in the game are only alluded to.

Rose had always been a very optimistic, sheltered girl. Life in Vault 101 had been easy for her. Everyone liked her; her charisma was a perfect 10, according to her pip-boy. She had inherited a strict set of morals from her father, and never asked questions, even though people seemed to go quiet and babble when they talked about her childhood.

That's why it caught her by surprise when her father had left Vault 101. Everyone seemed to believe she knew he was going to leave her, but they were wrong. It might have broken some lesser people; her father and Amata were the only people she had ever felt close to. Vault 101 was the only home she had ever known. Rose was nothing if not adaptable though, which was good. She'd need it.

She found the guards on her way out of Vault 101 weren't going to just hurt her and take her to the Overseer. She couldn't talk them into stopping. She kicked the guard in the crotch, grabbing his weapon, and out of desperation, slamming it into his head until he stopped screaming. It was the first time she had taken a life, but Rose had no time, no chance to dwell on it.

She stripped the guy of his armor, saying a quick prayer for his safe departure into the afterlife, and slipped out of Vault 101.

The outside had been so, so bright. It smelled terrible, and her pip-boy's Geiger counter was going crazy.

Rose walked forward.

_"Not too long ago, I reported that a cat had recently left Vault 101. His name was James, good guy. Turns out, it gets better! I've got a new report here that said someone else had just climbed out of that hole. What the hell is going on down there? Revolution? Vacation? Somebody fart? Your guess is as good as mine kids."_

Megaton was very welcoming. Rose stayed for a few months, trying to adjust to the awful water, and the new food, mostly based around the gigantic insects around. Rose thought she could stay there forever, except for the nuclear bomb.

It kept her up at night, though it seemed some of the town coped by worshipping the thing. Nobody wanted to do anything about it.

One night, after pouring through explosives-related magazines, Rose approached the bomb. Finding the panel mentioned in one of the articles, she got to work.

They had offered her a house. She furnished it using rummage from the nearby town's ruins. The radio, when it picked up GNR, mentioned a man crawling out of Vault 101. It had to be him. Did she want to leave?

Her packed bags answered for her. Rose had to leave.

_"Those scumbag Slavers way over in Paradise Falls have one big ole bee on their bonnet. Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Gasp! But what's this? The bothersome bumblebee looks suspiciously like a certain kid, from a certain vault... You heard it here first, faithful listeners. The Wanderer showed up at slaver central and bad guys started dropping left and right. Did they sell her a bum slave and then refuse the refund, or was it some elaborate rescue operation? But more importantly - does it even matter worth a damn? Slavers are dead, slaves are free. That's a win-win if you ask me, children."_

Rose got pretty handy with an assault rifle, though the noise was almost deafening, she got used to it. The people all looked very distinctive, and it helped her know who to keep her distance from. All she needed was one raider attack to know she best hide from people in armor that looked like it had been made out of corpses—though to be fair, she should have figured that out to begin with.

The giant green monsters littered around the wasteland didn't need such an introduction. Rose wasn't sure she wanted to be around them even if they were friendly.

Despite the horrors of this new world, Rose was sure meeting her father would make it all worth it. He would protect her.

_"Grab your hankies, children, cause I've got a heart-warming tale to tell. It's about a little girl's search her… for her daddy. Waaaahh! You see, the kid from Vault 101 has been looking for her dad, a very nice man named James, who left his daughter behind in the vault when he took off. What kind of dad leaves his kid in an underground bunker? Children, I just don't know. It ain't for Three Dog to judge, and you shouldn't either. But none of that matters now! Father and daughter were spotted walkin' and talkin' together out there in the Wastes. Here's hoping they can hold onto each other this time around."_

"If one more of you fucking people consoles me on my father I will be handing out my bullets as rations through your people's chests-" Even three doses of Jet hadn't stopped the threats that Rose had been handing out with little provocation.

It didn't seem to matter. The Brotherhood of Steel members had taken away Rose's gun when she started to fall apart, and most of them could physically overpower the girl one-handed.

This went on until Elder Lyons approached her.

"What?" Rose asked. "Haven't you people done enough?"

"This isn't fair to you," he said.

"No shit," Rose said.

"But the facts are these," he continued, unperturbed. "I have been asking around. It seems you've gone into quite a few vaults and walked out alive. You've wiped out raider camps, handled super-mutants like they were radscorpions…You've turned into something of a one-woman army. Your father needs a GECK-"

"If you think my father 'needs' anything, I have some unfortunate news to give you," Rose said, laughing bitterly.

"We need a GECK to complete your father's project. You've seen the state of the wasteland. I don't need to tell you how much of a game-changer purified water would be to everyone."

"Your point?" Rose asked.

"The GECK is in Vault 87. You may be our best shot at finishing your father's project. We're all on your side. Rose, you're a good person, who came from two very good people. Here is your equipment," the elder put a bag at Rose's feet. "The door is unlocked; you're free to go."

"What's stopping me from just fucking off?" Rose asked.

"Nothing but your conscience," the man said.

Rose sighed. "Fine," she said.

"_Reportedly there's a lot of dead Enclave over at Raven Rock, which may explain why my favorite competition has gone quiet. Don't believe me? Tune into the static for yourselves, folks! And our favorite friend out of Vault 101 was spotted with hardly a scratch. _

_The Lone Wanderer, upon questioning, was reported to say that the massacre was: "Very cathartic, thanks." _

_That crazy-cat has got our back folks!_

It had all led to this. Standing above her father's body, looking at a key-pad. She knew the combination. She knew the price. Rose looked back at Sarah, who gave her an encouraging smile, tinged with fear. _Maybe it was a good thing it ended here_.

Nobody thought Rose was human anymore, not even Rose. Rose blew a kiss to Sarah, giving a genuine smile.

"See you soon Dad," Rose said, punching 2-1-6 into the keypad.

_Reports are saying that there was an explosion at the Jefferson Memorial. The kid from Vault 101, and a Brotherhood of Steel member were reportedly taken back to the Citadel for treatment, but I have to be honest kiddos, they don't look in good shape. _

"Life's worth living… when nature's giving…"

_Weird. I dunno if this is the theme-song I woulda picked for Heaven, but I'll take it. _

Rose opened her eyes. It was the citadel.

The screaming could be heard from Megaton.

"_Well kiddos, it's the end of an era. I'd like to take a moment to remind you all about the Lone Wanderer's accomplishments. The purification of the water, destruction of Raven Rock, heck, the destruction of the Enclave entirely. Seems greatness comes with a price folks, as the kid from Vault 101 was found dead by suicide. Figures that the only think that could kill the Lone Wanderer was the Lone Wanderer._

_Hope you find peace, kid. You deserve it._

_It's Three Dog OWWWW! And this is Galaxy News Radio. _

Notes: So my biggest regret here is that I wasn't really able to channel Three Dog's 'voice' very well. He has such a distinctive voice, and any attempt to mimic it still seems hallow. I think the reports that were copied straight from the wiki stand out because of this, and I apologize.

This is the first in a series of fanfiction stories I hope to do based on sandbox-rpg game universes. I just had to get this one out. My Fallout 3 character's slow unraveling haunted me. Even though I knew about James, it still hurt, and it hurt her even more. (I'm a writer at heart, so I couldn't avoid playing these sandbox-style game 'verses like I would write a story.)

I'm figuring it'll get much funnier from here-on-out, as I plan on doing multiple bits on Skyrim, and one on Fallout: New Vegas (of course.) Neither one of those are such an inherently tragic game as this is.


End file.
